Thoughts lead to feelings, feelings lead to actions, actions lead to results—and those results are what you manifested. Right?

Well, sometimes ...

Other times, we try to think all the right thoughts so we can have the right feelings so we do the right things and get everything we ever wanted. But we don’t always get everything we ever wanted—which, for many of us, includes financial abundance.

So where have we gone wrong? Well, it turns out there’s a step in the formula that we often miss. An important step. The very first step.

Remember how I said we “try” to think all of the right thoughts? Have you ever wondered why we have to try so hard—why it often feels like we’re fighting against ourselves to think the thoughts that will bring a financial windfall our way?

Well, that’s the problem: You are fighting against yourself.

In order to change your thoughts, you have to first address your past conditioning around money—or your money blueprint.

This blueprint, or internal preset program, is informed by our past—and we don’t just have one for money! We have blueprints for our relationships, our careers, our self-image, and more ... unless and until we take control of our mindsets and reprogram them for the better.

T. Harv Eker is the brilliant mind behind the money blueprint concept and the author of one of my favorite finance books, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. In it he says:

“We live in a world of duality: Up and down, light and dark, hot and cold, in and out, fast, slow, right and left ... Consequently, just as there are ‘outer’ laws of money, there must be ‘inner’ laws. The outer laws include things like business knowledge, money management, and investment strategies. These are essential. But the inner game is just as important.”

In order to raise our consciousness and attract more financial abundance, we have to start by getting clear on our blueprint. Eker says you discover your financial blueprint by thinking back on your childhood and answering these three questions:

What did I hear about money when I was younger?

e.g., “Money doesn’t grow on trees!”

What did I see with regard to money when I was younger?

e.g., We always had just enough money to pay the bills. No more, no less.

What did I experience around money when I was younger?

e.g., Mom was able to pay for all of my class trips, but I never saw her travel or spend money on herself. I got the feeling that you had to make financial sacrifices for your family.

These questions are important because what you heard, saw, and experienced as a child builds that blueprint; it determines what you feel you’re capable of earning or achieving or calling in. There’s no mistaking that your thoughts, your beliefs, and your character are key factors in your level of financial success (or success, period).

You control your mindset, and your mindset defines your life.

So, if you happen to have a negative money mindset—and don’t feel bad; most of us initially do!—how can you “fix” it? I call this “reprogramming” because you are actually working to rewire the parts of your brain that subconsciously tell you:

I can only earn $50,000 a year.

I can only earn as much as I need to pay the bills.

I should spend my money as soon as I earn it.

You don’t just get rid of these and other disempowering thoughts. You change your relationship to them.

And, according to Eker, you do that by following these four steps. Practice them deeply and often, and you’ll soon find your mindset shifting and your abundance flowing.

Trust me—I’ve done this work too.

1. Be aware.

Become aware of your fear around money and the ways you have been sabotaging your financial abundance. You’ve already started this process by asking yourself the questions above! You are exposing destructive (and long-held) patterns. This will help you dismantle them and put more positive patterns in their place.

2. Understand.

Understand where your thinking around money originated (by identifying specific money modeling or financial experiences from your past), and connect the dots between those experiences and any fear-based thoughts, actions, or energy you have around money. How has this tainted your abundance and success?

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3. Dissociate.

Just as you might dissociate from a toxic friend, it’s time to dissociate from your toxic beliefs. By now, you’re likely beginning to see that your previous thought and behavioral patterns are not valuable, not truthful, and not actually you. Can you see that you have a choice in this present moment to think differently, to act differently, to be different? You do. What choice will you make?

4. Recondition.

This last step is an important piece of the whole puzzle; this is the work that will rewire your subconscious mind. On a daily basis, you will need to practice a series of empowering techniques that retrain your mind to respond supportively with regard to financial abundance. You’re probably familiar with a lot of these techniques already: reciting mantras or affirmations, meditating, practicing yoga, or just a daily practice of checking in with yourself and asking, “What worked today? What didn’t?”

You can pick the techniques that work best for you. Just make the time every day to practice reconditioning your mind with a new, positive money blueprint. In this step, you go beyond talking or reading about financial abundance; you are now creating a more empowering pattern!

It’s unlikely that you’ll rewrite your money blueprint in a day, a week, or even a few months. But the more time you spend paying attention to, understanding, disassociating from, and reconditioning these harmful patterns, the closer you’ll get to your ultimate financial goal.

Train your mind to think more empowering thoughts around money, and you’ll be amazed at the abundance you manifest.